A Call for Strength: Confronting the Houthi Threat Head-On

from The Salty Cracker:  TRUTH LIVES on at https://sgtreport.tv/

by Peter Schiff, Schiff Gold: The message is loud and clear: The Japanese economy has no tolerance for higher interest rates after the Bank of Japan has kept them artificially near zero for decades. Meanwhile, as the largest holders of US Treasury debt, Japan’s economic well-being has become inextricably dependent on the capricious whims of Federal Reserve […]

from SGT Report: The Bankster’s best buddy Warren Buffet who lent $5 Billion to Goldman Sachs via investment during the 2008-09 financial crisis has repeatedly called Bitcoin rat poison.. So, is Bitcoin just one big Psyop? Is it rat poison? Or is Bitcoin just rat poison to the big criminal international banking establishment? Listen. My […]

by Christopher Tomlinson, The National Pulse: The head of the Maryland Democratic Party’s LGBT caucus allegedly sought to arrange a sexual encounter with a 14-year-old minor by text. Michael Knaapen admits the texts, which include nudes and an expressed desire to rape the supposed child and film the encounter, are real. However, he claims he did not really intend to meet […]

June 26, 2024Our Desire To Belong Is an InvitationSARAH E. WESTFALL Lee en español "You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water." Psalm 63:1 (NIV) I planted my patio garden last weekend with a strange mix of excitement and hesitation. Last year's plants did not do well. Between pesky bugs, sickly looking tomato bushes, and little to no vegetable yield, I was over the whole thing by August. I let the plants wither and was tempted to give up gardening completely. But the winter months seemed to erase some of those memories. As April inched toward May and the grass gradually turned green, my fingers ached to be in the dirt. I began to dream once again of fresh caprese salads and homemade salsa using produce grown from my little patch of land. So I took the risk. I let myself follow the longing rising within me with the sweetness of hope. In many ways, I am learning to do the same with relationships. Belonging, I find, is a lot like gardening. We cultivate and tend the ground as best we can. We learn what the soil needs and how it reacts. We nurture each leaf and vine. But even so, there are elements outside our control. We can do all the right things to foster community and connection, but sometimes we are still left wounded or weary, alone in "a dry and parched land where there is no water" (Psalm 63:1). Yet the longing remains. Our desire for connection is innate, even when we want to abandon it altogether. In these moments, I am finding that our longing for belonging is enough to keep hope alive. It is enough to know that our thirst for connection is good and eternal, and as my friend Charlotte Donlon writes, our loneliness is pointing us back to ourselves, each other and the Divine. We might need time to let the ground settle and space to tend to our souls before reaching out and trying again. We might need to become reacquainted with the welcome already within us, the image of God folded into our marrow and our skin (Genesis 1:27). Knowing that the desire to belong does not signify our lack but is a beautiful longing, we can look up in hope. We can sink our fingers into the life we have been given and look for God "in the land of the living," confident we will experience His goodness among us once again (Psalm 27:13, NIV). God, help me see my desire to belong as an invitation toward what is good, a communal hope You implanted within me from the beginning, so that even when I am lonely and the ground beneath my feet is cracked and dry, I can sense Your welcome within me. Let the ache move me toward others as we find our home in You. In Jesus' Name, Amen. OUR FAVORITE THINGS For a deeper exploration into how we relate, get a copy of Sarah’s new book, The Way of Belonging. ENGAGE Sarah regularly explores the intersection of faith, belonging and being an actual person in her newsletter and her podcast, Human Together. You can also connect with her on Instagram. Enter to WIN your very own copy of The Way of Belonging by Sarah E. Westfall. To celebrate this book, Sarah's publisher will give away 5 copies! Enter to win by leaving a comment here. {We'll randomly select 5 winners and then notify each one in the comments section by Monday, July 1, 2024.} FOR DEEPER STUDY Psalm 38:9, "All my longings lie open before you, Lord; my sighing is not hidden from you" (NIV). How does your posture toward yourself, God or others change when you know that your longing is known by God and is meant to point you toward what is good? © 2024 by Sarah E. Westfall. All rights reserved. Proverbs 31 Ministries thanks InterVarsity Press for their sponsorship of today's devotion. Click here to view our policy on third-party links. Proverbs 31 MinistriesP.O. Box 3189 Matthews, NC 28106 www.Proverbs31.org The post Our Desire To Belong Is an Invitation –  Encouragement for Today – June 26, 2024 appeared first on GodUpdates.

A Prayer for Comfort When Your Heart is HurtingBy Keri Eichberger  "The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." – Psalm 34:18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted, right? That's what the Bible says. Well then, why didn't I feel his closeness? I mean, I know from years of a nurtured, growing faith that he is indeed always near, but my heart was still hurting. So much each morning recently, in fact, that I had a hard time truly connecting deeply with God in my quiet time. I was weathering a weighed-down season that was lasting longer than what seemed usual. I started to wonder if the depression I had long since experienced was on the brink of return. And that thought in itself pushed me further into the pit. I was desperate for comfort. I knew God was the provider of it, and I was feeling brief relief here and there, but the ache kept pressing in. Does your heart hurt today? Have you recently found yourself dealing with difficulties that lay heavier than normal on your soul? Of course, you've known this feeling. Life is hard and heavy and so often hurts. Do you have a schedule so full you feel crushed with overwhelm just taking a peek at it? Do you have so many concerns for your kids, a family member, or a spouse's well-being that you feel defeated by helplessness? Do you fear the future because something right in front of you seems uncertain, unreliable, and unstable? Or maybe, like me, there is all of that and so much more. You feel so much. Weighed down by so incredibly much. And the wild tangle has turned into a tornado of emotional turmoil that has left you discouraged at best, and borderline depressed. I feel you. And I'm so sorry. Yes, life is so hard. But it's in these hard places I want to encourage you to keep seeking comfort from the Lord. Because he is close. And he is the Lord who saves. The end of Psalm 34:18 says that he saves the crushed in spirit. So keep seeking him in and through your hurt. It's really all I know to do in my valleys. Though it may not always seem it, I know he sees me. I know he sees you. Even if just a touch, we will find hints of comfort each time we reach out. I hope you'll remember that today. Remember that he is close, always. And little by little, you will be consoled and comforted. You will see him saving you. By the grace of God, I made it out again. I remember recently wondering if he'd ever save me from my sad self. But he was. And he did. He was working all along. Sitting beside me, allowing me to lean more and more on him. And he will do the same for you. Just keep seeking him. He is near you now. He will stay with you all the way through what is hurting your heart. And in due time, he will most certainly redeem your struggle and save your crushed spirit. Let's pray: Lord Jesus, My heart hurts. And no surprise to you. You warned us of trials and troubles in this life. But you are always near. Especially close to our brokenhearted seasons. Thank you so much for your compassion. Thank you so much for your comfort. Lord, I desperately want to feel your soothing presence. I long for relief in your almighty strength and power. Help me be aware of you. Help me experience you and your overwhelming embrace of extravagant, all-encompassing love. I long for the day of perfection in eternity, where my tears will be no more. But until that day, you have promised, I will continue to lean on you and to seek you. Knowing you will continue to comfort me and save me. And knowing that you have such wonderfully good plans for me. In your name, Jesus, I pray, Amen. Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/CandyRetriever Keri Eichberger is a Jesus-loving Kentucky girl. She is married to her best friend, Mike, and has a full house of five kids. After years of writing for an online audience, Keri became ordained through Southeast Christian Church, giving her life to full-time ministry. She is the author of Win Over Worry: Conquer What Shakes You and Soar With the One Who Overcomes, and has a passion for sharing faith-filled encouragement through devotional writing. Connect with Keri at KeriEichberger.com or Instagram. Teach Us to Pray is a FREE prayer podcast hosted by iBelieve writer Christina Patterson. Each week, she gives you practical, real-life tips on how to grow your faith and relationship with God through the power of prayer. To listen to her episode on What to Pray in the Morning for a Worry-Free Day, click below! Now that you’ve prayed, are you in need of someone to pray for YOU? Click the button below! Visit iBelieve.com for more inspiring prayer content. The post A Prayer for Comfort When Your Heart Is Hurting – Your Daily Prayer – June 26 appeared first on GodUpdates.

Overcoming the Lure of Worldly Things Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. – Colossians 3:1-3 One day a mother was trying to teach her daughter a lesson about giving. So she gave the little girl a quarter and a dollar bill before going to church and told her, "Put whichever one you want in the collection plate and keep the other for yourself." After church, she asked the little girl what she had given during the offering time. The little girl responded, "Well, I was going to give a dollar, but then the preacher said God loves a cheerful giver. I knew I'd be more cheerful if I gave the quarter, so I did." What is it about us that loves to hang onto our stuff? We know we can't keep it forever. And most people realize material things can't make them happy. But for some reason, we have a strong urge to hang onto our things as if they'll give us lasting joy. The truth is that no amount of material wealth can ever fulfill us. That's exactly why God wants to liberate us from our dependence on such things by inviting us to invest them in His purposes. It's not that these things are bad. It's that they make terrible gods, but great Kingdom servants. Keep free from the love of worldly things by using them for God's glory. When we think of our stuff as really His, we'll experience much more joy as we give it all back to Him! Prayer Challenge Pray and confess that everything you have belongs to God. Ask Him to give you an attitude of generosity when it comes to giving it back. Questions for Thought What are some areas of your life where perhaps you're looking toward worldly things to make you happy? As you think about those areas, what would it look like to give them completely over to God? Visit the Senior Living Ministries website The post Overcoming the Lure of Worldly Things – Senior Living – June 26 appeared first on GodUpdates.

June 26, 2024Our Desire To Belong Is an InvitationSARAH E. WESTFALL Lee en español "You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water." Psalm 63:1 (NIV) I planted my patio garden last weekend with a strange mix of excitement and hesitation. Last year's plants did not do well. Between pesky bugs, sickly looking tomato bushes, and little to no vegetable yield, I was over the whole thing by August. I let the plants wither and was tempted to give up gardening completely. But the winter months seemed to erase some of those memories. As April inched toward May and the grass gradually turned green, my fingers ached to be in the dirt. I began to dream once again of fresh caprese salads and homemade salsa using produce grown from my little patch of land. So I took the risk. I let myself follow the longing rising within me with the sweetness of hope. In many ways, I am learning to do the same with relationships. Belonging, I find, is a lot like gardening. We cultivate and tend the ground as best we can. We learn what the soil needs and how it reacts. We nurture each leaf and vine. But even so, there are elements outside our control. We can do all the right things to foster community and connection, but sometimes we are still left wounded or weary, alone in "a dry and parched land where there is no water" (Psalm 63:1). Yet the longing remains. Our desire for connection is innate, even when we want to abandon it altogether. In these moments, I am finding that our longing for belonging is enough to keep hope alive. It is enough to know that our thirst for connection is good and eternal, and as my friend Charlotte Donlon writes, our loneliness is pointing us back to ourselves, each other and the Divine. We might need time to let the ground settle and space to tend to our souls before reaching out and trying again. We might need to become reacquainted with the welcome already within us, the image of God folded into our marrow and our skin (Genesis 1:27). Knowing that the desire to belong does not signify our lack but is a beautiful longing, we can look up in hope. We can sink our fingers into the life we have been given and look for God "in the land of the living," confident we will experience His goodness among us once again (Psalm 27:13, NIV). God, help me see my desire to belong as an invitation toward what is good, a communal hope You implanted within me from the beginning, so that even when I am lonely and the ground beneath my feet is cracked and dry, I can sense Your welcome within me. Let the ache move me toward others as we find our home in You. In Jesus' Name, Amen. OUR FAVORITE THINGS For a deeper exploration into how we relate, get a copy of Sarah’s new book, The Way of Belonging. ENGAGE Sarah regularly explores the intersection of faith, belonging and being an actual person in her newsletter and her podcast, Human Together. You can also connect with her on Instagram. Enter to WIN your very own copy of The Way of Belonging by Sarah E. Westfall. To celebrate this book, Sarah's publisher will give away 5 copies! Enter to win by leaving a comment here. {We'll randomly select 5 winners and then notify each one in the comments section by Monday, July 1, 2024.} FOR DEEPER STUDY Psalm 38:9, "All my longings lie open before you, Lord; my sighing is not hidden from you" (NIV). How does your posture toward yourself, God or others change when you know that your longing is known by God and is meant to point you toward what is good? © 2024 by Sarah E. Westfall. All rights reserved. Proverbs 31 Ministries thanks InterVarsity Press for their sponsorship of today's devotion. Click here to view our policy on third-party links. Proverbs 31 MinistriesP.O. Box 3189 Matthews, NC 28106 www.Proverbs31.org The post Our Desire To Belong Is an Invitation –  Encouragement for Today – June 26, 2024 appeared first on GodUpdates.

1243 - Battle of Köse Dağ: Mongols under Baiju defeat Seljuk army of Sultan Kaykhusraw II during Mongol attacks in north east Turkey 1553 - Christ's Hospital in London, England, granted a charter by King Edward VI to house and teach children of the poor 1910 - US National Championship Women's Tennis, Philadelphia CC: Defending champion Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman beats Louise Hammond 6-4, 6-2 1924 - Theatrical revue "Ziegfeld Follies of 1924", featuring Billie Burke and W.C. Fields, opens at the New Amsterdam Theatre, NYC 1946 - Dutch Nazi collaborator Arnold Meijer sentenced to 5 years 2012 - Police procedural drama "Line of Duty" debuts on BBC 2 in the UK 2013 - Kevin Rudd defeats Julia Gillard in a leadership battle to become Australian Prime Minister 2015 - US Supreme Court rules 5-4 same-sex marriage is a legal right across all US states 2017 - Brazilian state prosecutors file corruption charges against President Michel Temer 2018 - Polio outbreak confirmed in New Guinea by WHO, 18 years after it was declared free of the disease More Historical Events »